Safety Is Overrated
by violet-phoenix-rose
Summary: Due to unforseen circumstances, the Burrow becomes the new safehouse. Now the Weasley kids, Harry and Hermione have a lot to deal with - including someone who wants to be there even less than they do. Rating is precautionary.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: for the Safe House challenge. AU-ish (how much depends on what I do with this thing); starts in the middle of the fifth book, the day before Christmas break.

---

_Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny -_

_Grimauld Place has been infiltrated. The Burrow is the new safe-house. None of you will be going back to Hogwarts after the holidays. A storm is coming. Similar letters have been sent to two of your schoolmates, though they cannot be named for now. We have no idea what's going on at the moment, so we clearly can't tell you six anything. Whatever you do, don't panic._

_The Order_

---

The letter didn't work as intended. By the time all six of the recipients read it, an air of panic filled the common room, or at least the couch and two armchairs they occupied.

"This is horrible!" Hermione screamed as loudly as she could without being overheard. This was enough to hurt a few people's ears - Lee Jordan was teaching a group of third-years how to play Exploding Snap on the other side of the room.

"Hate to say it, but we got what we wanted and now we don't want it," Fred sighed.

"Which means WHAT?" Ginny snapped. "If Mum finds out that you wanted this..."

"All we wanted was a way out of school before the end of this year," George explained. "It figures - we got what we wanted in a roundabout way, and now I think I might miss this place."

"It's horrible timing on top of the pure dreadfulness of the idea," Hermione shuddered. "How are Harry and Ron and I going to get anywhere in the world if we haven't taken our OWLs?"

"Try our approach," Fred laughed. "We barely got any, and we're perfectly fine."

"That might work for YOU," Hermione insisted, "given that you two are THE most unambitious people I've ever met, but what about the rest of us? What if we actually want to do something with our lives?"

"Knock it off," Harry said, trying to calm Hermione down and failing. "It looks like that game over there's nearly over, and we're not supposed to let anyone know what's going on."

"Still," Hermione said, pulling herself out of her armchair, "it's a tragedy."

"On the contrary," George decided, "I think the fun is just beginning."

Hermione did not respond. Instead, as she went up to her dorm to pack, she sent Fred and George a death look.

"What'd I do?" Fred asked cluelessly once she was out of earshot.

"Does it matter?" Ron muttered. "She's like that. Spend a few solid weeks with her, and you'll get used to it."

---

A/N: Not sure if Hermione-getting-mad-at-the-twins-easily is in the books, but I'm winging it. Also, in case it isn't clear, Mr. Weasley's accident did not happen in this AU-verse.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, at precisely two-fifteen in the afternoon, the Hogwarts Express arrived at King's Cross. The letter hadn't said who would be meeting them there, so Hermione decided that their pack would simply get off the train and wait around for someone to tell them what to do. This was unlike her, but she'd been crazy ever since reading the letter so no one really noticed.

"Wait, where are you going?" called a voice. Ginny, behind her brothers and friends on the way off the train, turned her head and saw Luna Lovegood racing towards her.

"Off the train, can't you tell?" Ginny replied. "We don't know who's fetching us this time, so we're just going to wait and see who turns up."

"I know who's fetching you," Luna said in a tone that implied she knew even more than that. "It's going to be a young woman with odd hair."

Ginny wasn't quite sure who Luna was talking about, but it was worth listening to. "How do you know?"

"Because I'm supposed to stick with your family, that's why. So is Neville. The letter I got must have explained more than yours."

Hermione, directly in front of Ginny, heard all this and rolled her eyes. On top of everything else, their group was going to include the craziest girl and the most accident-prone boy she'd ever met, and for an indefinite period of time! It was going to be odd, that was for sure.

---

At last, all eight of the new pack were off the train. Ginny's initial idea turned out to be right - Tonks was waiting for them, and she was alone. "Hullo," she said in greeting. "Got all your things?"

"Yes," Hermione said, speaking for the others. "Everything's accounted for. By the way, if I might ask, why do you seem so depressed?"

"It's a long story," Tonks said, avoiding an explanation. "Here, let me take that." She had reached out her hand and taken Trevor's cage from Neville, who was having trouble carrying it and his trunk at the same time.

"How are we getting... back?" This time Ginny was the curious one - never a good sign, as the twins and Ron knew all too well.

"Multiple methods. A friend of mine has a flat not too far from here, so first we're headed there. We'll use the Floo to get to my parents' house and to get all the junk where it needs to go, then we'll use a Portkey to get where we need to be. That alright with you lot?"

No one commented. They merely followed Tonks straight out of the train station.

---

Half an hour, everyone was in the kitchen at the Burrow. Aside from Pigwidgeon, who was now missing a few feathers, all their belongings had made it as well. "Molly," Tonks called, "I've got them."

Molly Weasley came scurrying into the kitchen, which was rather cramped with nine people and eight trunks. "Thank heavens you all made it," she said, taking in the fact that no one was hurt - in her mind, the animals didn't count. "All right, things are going to be tight, so I'm going to clear you on sleeping arrangements. Girls, you'll be in the attic - don't worry, I've cleaned it out a bit. Fred, George, you have your bedroom, and you three will take Ron's room. Did I miss anyone?" No one commented. "Good. We don't know how long this arrangement is going to have to last, so please make yourselves at home and get used to the place." With that, she dashed out of the room as quickly as she'd come.

"Great welcoming," Ginny muttered. "I wonder who else we've got to put up with. More than twenty people living here and we'll all go mad, but Mum's never valued sanity..."

"Look on the bright side," Fred commented. "Lots of people means lots of potential pranks for George and I - what's not to love?"

"Let me make one thing clear," Tonks said as she began to send trunks flying. "Molly's got a lot of tolerance, but only so long as nothing gets set on fire. If or when that happens, I'd really hate to be the person responsible - got it?"

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked. "I mean, I know you're in the Order, but I'm surprised you have to live with this circus."

"Personal choice, really," Tonks explained. "My parents aren't at risk this way, which is good for them, and someone's got to make sure you lot don't go TOO stir-crazy - hence the fact that I'm supposed to clear you on the rules and stuff like that. Look, it honestly can't be that bad - you're not at school, so I don't think anyone's going to try to stop you unless you nearly blow this place up." She sent warning glances at the twins. "And in any case, I'll probably be as sick of being cooped up as you are by this time next month."

"You don't sound happy about any of that," Luna said in a way that only she could.

"Blast it, the others should have known at least one of you would see through all of that rubbish! The truth is, I'm here for my own good, and that's all I know."

"But why would getting cooped up here help you?" Luna asked. "Wouldn't you be more useful outside of here?"

"I would be, but no one seems to be listening on that front. No, it's all 'let's make sure her crazy aunt has one less target' instead of 'why not use one of the less attached people where we need her most'. I am so damn sick of the way in which the specter of my mother's crazy older sister seems to be controlling my life, but no one else listens, let alone cares!"

"So they think your aunt might get loose at some point?" This was Hermione, who knew exactly what was going on. Out of sheer boredom and a desire to avoid one of Mrs. Weasley's cleaning projects the previous summer, she had practically memorized who was related to whom. If nothing else, this had killed time, but apparently it had done more as well.

"They don't 'think' anything! From what little they tell me, which I can assure you is almost nothing, they almost expect her to break out. It's never a good sign when the Order expects something that bad, especially when Moody has nothing to do with it."

"So this isn't going to end well, uh?" Fred asked, and all the others (with the exceptions of George and Luna) shuddered collectively. As a general rule, one of their deepest shared fears was the level of damage Fred and George could do if they thought the world was going to end.

"So they tell me, though it's not like I know anything. Really, the fact that I'm 22 and female seems to keep them from trusting me, although I can't see why."

"Look on the bright side," George commented, and this time Luna shuddered too. "If it's all going to end, the way it sounds, we'll at least have some fun beforehand."

"Not if you're thinking what I think you're thinking," Ginny snapped. She had inherited her mother's temper, and all the others took a few steps back. "Killing time with your little games is one thing, but if you try anything major, Mum's seriously going to kill you."

"So begins life without sanity," Hermione whispered to Luna. "The damage this lot is capable of... Sufficient to say, you'd probably be better off at school."

---

A/N: Please review! Updates should be frequent for the next few weeks - beyond that I have no idea how often I'll be able to post stuff.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, the three girls unpacked and decided that their trunks would have to serve as chairs. Having nothing better to do, they were talking. "This is going to suck," Ginny decided. "I'm willing to bet that a few things are going to happen in the next few weeks, and none of them are good."

"What are they?" Luna asked. She was absent-mindedly drawing some sort of bird on a scrap of paper.

"Here's how it's going to work," Ginny said. "This place will be a pressure-cooker for relationships within six weeks. Within six DAYS, Fred and George will begin something of a reign of terror - think chaos, Luna. And, by the time we finally get out of here, none of us will be able to stand each other."

"She's right," Hermione added. "Unfortunantely for us, we have no idea who else is going to turn up or what else is going on outside of here. Most of us have good reason to be kept safe, but there is absolutely no clear point for having Luna here - no offense, of course."

"None taken," Luna chirped.

"Anyways, it's simply not going to work! We're all going to go mad by the end of this, and someone's liable to get killed at the rate we're going."

"Is it even possible for you two to look on the bright side?" Luna asked. "I think this is going to be fun - I barely know most of you, so I'll get to know all of you better. I mean, I can see how this could be a bit of a problem for some people, especially that woman with the odd hair, but it'll be an experience."

"Oh God," Hermione muttered, "she's got a Pollyanna complex."

"A WHAT?" Ginny asked, having no idea what Hermione was talking about.

"I'm not even going to try to explain it," Hermione said. "Basically, it's when someone's too optimistic for their own good."

"I still have no idea what you just said," Ginny commented, "but I think you've got Luna wrong. She's not usually like that."

"You do realize I'm still here, right?" Luna chirped.

"Great," Hermione muttered. "Along with the usual morons, I have to deal with someone who might be out of her mind."

"I'm not THAT bad, am I?"

Hermione just rolled her eyes knowingly. Was surviving the next few weeks even POSSIBLE?

---

Ten minutes later, after several bad attempts, the girls realized that it would be a good idea to get someone older to move boxes so they could look out the window. They trooped downstairs silently, hoping for the only time in their lives to collide with the twins. Instead, they paused outside a closed door on the second floor and heard something much more interesting.

"It's a lost cause," Tonks moaned. "I need to find someone else, someone more open to people and to me."

"No, that's the last thing you need!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed. "You can't deny true love, even when it seems one-sided."

"But can't you see?" Tonks asked incredulously. "It's like he goes out of his way to avoid me! I just need to accept it and find someone who can stand me."

"There is no way I am letting you settle for less than you deserve! Wait and see. It seems hopeless now, but in the end it's going to work."

"Yeah - in the end, right before we all get killed, knowing my luck. You've got to be crazy to think any of this could ever happen."

"It will. Just hold on and watch what happens."

"Since when has THAT advice worked? Waiting and seeing what happens is how we got stuck here, remember? No one's telling me anything about what's really going on, so just let me do the one thing I'm sure about. I know what I'm doing."

"You have no idea what you're doing. Give it six months. If nothing changes, do what you want."

A moment later, Tonks exited the room, slamming the door behind her. "If ONE MORE PERSON tells me to just watch and wait... Oh, what are you three doing here?" She had just noticed Ginny, Hermione, and Luna, who were standing against the wall. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Not much," Ginny said truthfully. "No names, at least."

"That's the best thing I've heard in three days, which is probably a sign that things aren't going too well. What are you doing down here in the first place, may I ask?"

"We don't know," Luna chirped. "There's nothing to do and we can only talk for so long, I guess."

"Yeah, sure. What did you REALLY want?"

"Like Luna said," Ginny replied, "there is absolutely nothing to do. We were going to drag one of my brothers up there to move boxes so we get some actual floor space, and then we passed this door and decided we might as well listen."

"I believe you. I'm probably crazier than any member of my mother's family ever was, but I believe you."

"Wow - you barely know us, and yet you trust us." That was Luna, who found it amazing that someone else did what she wished she DIDN'T do.

"So, are you three desperate enough to try to decorate?"

All the girls could do was nod their heads. At least someone was being nice...

---

A/N: Please review, and thank you if you have. Suggestions and questions are always welcome. People have been asking why Hermione's totally OOC - I haven't worked that out yet, so please bear with me as I try to fix that.


	4. Chapter 4

Three hours later, give or take ten minutes, Fred and George sat scheming in their room. "So, what say we liven this place up a bit?" Fred asked his twin, the look on his face showing that he had a plan.

"No point," George muttered. "Mum and Dad and Ginny and Ron have seen everything already, Harry and Hermione nearly have, Luna seems off-limits, and there's no way we're doing anything to Tonks unless we've really got a death wish."

"Of course, you left out the one person who could be really entertaining with what I've got in mind," Fred smirked.

"Oh, yeah - Neville, isn't it? What are you thinking?"

"Recall the story we heard three years ago about what happened when a flock of Cornish pixies got loose in Lockhart's classroom?"

"Yeah, and your idea is?"

"We see what gnomes will do when set loose in the house. Brilliant, isn't it?"

"It is, so long as there's a way to make sure Mum and Tonks have no idea what's going on."

"I've got it covered. We're going to turn a few family heirlooms into guinea pigs and have those two go chase them down."

"That won't work. _Accio guinea pig_ works, remember?"

"Well, it's not like we're telling them the heirlooms are guinea pigs or anything like that. All I'm going to say is that we transfigured them into something. Since we've never tried anything like that, it'll take them twenty minutes at least to figure out that the small animal running across the floor used to be a 150-year-old vase."

"We're missing something - what about Hermione's cat?"

"It's supposed to stay outdoors until further notice. Who knows - maybe it'll find some gnomes for us."

"This is brilliant."

"Operation Gnome Drop begins... NOW!"

---

"I could have sworn there was a vase on that table just a moment ago," Tonks mused, believing the chaos had messed with her mind.

"As could I," Molly Weasley said, carrying a tea tray into the front room. "In fact, a vase has been on that very table for as long as Arthur and I have had this house. Fred and George are going to catch hell for this, mark my words."

"Perhaps I could help find whatever the vase now is," Tonks suggested, trying to be unimposing. "I'd say it'd be a good idea to look for a flock of guinea pigs."

"That's not like them, though," Molly reasoned. "A flock of birds, maybe, but not guinea pigs."

Of course, she was dead wrong.

---

Twenty meters from the house, the twins stood near a rosebush that had somehow survived the damage they had previously done to it. Hermione's cat sat near them, purring contentedly. "What do you think she'll do when she finds out we trained her cat to find gnomes for us?" Fred asked. This was a part of the plan he hadn't worked out, so naturally he was a little nervous about it.

"Do you really think it'd be a good idea to TELL her?" George replied. "C'mon, Fluffy, catch us some gnomes."

"Okay, George - you stick here and watch until it's got a dozen or so for us. I'll go back in the house and keep everyone else out of our hair."

Fred was nothing if not brilliant, that much was for sure.

---

"What in the name of all good things did you do with my vase?" Molly Weasley snapped as Fred sauntered into the front room.

"What vase?" Fred asked, faking innocence. He knew it wouldn't work on his mother, but it was worth seeing if anyone else fell for it.

"The vase that used to sit on this table."

"Oh, THAT vase. George and I were practicing Transfiguration. He did that one, I think. Probably a guinea pig or something along those lines, but I wasn't watching."

"I knew it," Tonks muttered, sending a knowing look at Molly and Fred. "I say we try to find them the non-magic way - it'll give us something to do, at the very least."

---

Ten minutes later, while nearly everyone else was scouring the house for guinea pigs, George sneaked in the back door. In his hand was a canvas bag that held ten unhappy gnomes, all of whom apparently lived in or under the rosebush. He slipped into the kitchen, undid the knot on the bag, and watched as the gnomes each went off in a different direction.

---

The effect was instant. "Yowch," Luna screeched, feeling a small bite on her finger. At first she assumed it was a guinea pig, as she had her hand stuck under a couch, but then she looked. It was not a guinea pig; instead, it was a very perplexed-looking gnome. "I didn't know the twins kept pet gnomes," she said, and seven pairs of eyes were staring at her.

"They don't," Ginny said, shaking her head. "They tried once, a few years ago, but Mum didn't like it. When I get my hands on them, though..." her voice trailed off as George entered the room, the canvas bag still in his hands.

"Has anyone seen some gnomes?" he asked, not noticing the piercing looks on everyone's faces. "I was going to get rid of them, but somehow they made it out of the bag."

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" Molly asked, turning from the china cabinet to face the twins.

---

A/N: Please review and thank you if you have.


	5. Chapter 5

As luck would have it, before Molly had the chance to punish the twins, a large brown owl swooped into the house through an open window. It went straight to her, holding out a talon on which was strapped a piece of parchment. She removed it, read it, and was visibly calm when she folded it back up.

"What happened?" Fred asked, trying to get into a discussion long enough to make his mother forget the punishment she'd been thinking up.

"Half the Order is accounted for, at least," Molly said. "Sirius and Lupin are staying at Grimauld Place for a while, making sure they know what's going on. Most of the others are staying where they are for the moment, but a few are coming here this evening."

"Who's coming?" George asked. One could see why he and Fred would be curious - if nothing else, at least one person was certain to be fair game.

"Moody and Professor McGonagall," Molly explained. "I expect ALL of you to behave properly, understand?"

The other teenagers nodded their heads. The twins, however, grew wide-eyed, and looks of scheming tainted the effect. They hadn't yet pulled anything on Moody, possibly because they valued their lives, but there was a first time for everything. Their take on McGonagall was along the same lines. Hands down, this was going to be an experience.

---

When Minerva McGonagall arrived at the Burrow at six that evening, she was unsurprised by the general look of chaos the place had. Slightly more surprising was the sight of Hermione Granger chasing a cat that seemed to have something gnome-like in its mouth, but McGonagall understood cats better than most people so this wasn't lost on her. She knocked on the front door thrice, and nearly fainted when it opened. The fact that Luna Lovegood opened the door had nothing to do with this - McGonagall had been responsible for putting her with the group in the first place. Instead, it was the sight of Fred and George Weasley trying to catch a herd of guinea pigs and failing.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," Luna chirped, being uncharacteristically polite.

"What in the world is going on in here?" McGonagall asked, incredulous.

"My brothers turned the family heirlooms into guinea pigs and set a dozen gnomes loose in the house," Ginny Weasley said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"And your mother's reaction?"

"Panic, but a letter explaining what was going on with people came the second before she could hex them into oblivion."

"And would one of you care to explain why Miss Granger is chasing a cat?" McGonagall realized that she was speaking to the two girls who would know what was going on, and there had to be an explanation somewhere.

"Fred and George trained her cat to catch gnomes," Luna chirped, "at least that's what she thinks happened. She's going to catch the cat before she tries to kill them."

"Ah, Minerva," Molly Weasley said, "good to see you."

"The same to you, Molly," McGonagall said, silently placing a few protective spells on herself. She had spent six and a half years dealing with the Weasley twins, and had as much a fear as anyone of the damage they would do in this situation.

A loud _CRASH _indicated that Tonks had finally come downstairs. She had taken on the younger girls' project of trying to turn the attic into proper living space, believing it to be safer than trying to catch guinea pigs. Unfortunantely, she hadn't accounted for assorted things that Fred and George had placed up there at some point in the past, including something that seemed to be a punching telescope. She was off-balance as she gave up, so it was only natural that she would go crashing into a lamp.

"There is something up there," she gasped as she tried to get on her feet. "I don't know what it is, but I have a good idea who put it up there and I certainly know what it does."

Fred and George did a double take. "Ah, the telescope that was never meant to work," Fred remembered. "We're real sorry about that one; it was meant for Percy but we never could get it to go off when we wanted to..."

"A punching telescope?" Molly screamed. "You could have warned someone!"

"Mum, if we'd warned someone, the effect would've been lost," George said, trying to defend the project.

"I'm not going to punish you two," Molly said, and everyone stared at her. "No, you victimized someone who is perfectly capable of dealing with you herself. She decides what you get for this, not me."

"In that case," Tonks said, unsure of her new power, "you'd better tell Hermione why her cat's using a gnome as a chew toy. It might also help if you found that herd of guinea pigs..."

Fred and George looked at each other as though they had just been given death sentences. Hermione was a by-the-book sort of girl, but she'd still kill them over the cat affair. And as for the guinea pigs... Something told them that using magic to find them was off limits. It would not end well.

---

A/N: Hopefully I cleared up the question I got a lot with the last chapter, which was along the lines of, 'Where's the rest of the Order?'. Keep reviewing! A huge thanks goes to sick-at-heartxx (I did get that right, didn't I?) for pointing out the brilliance of the guinea pigs and the gnomes.


	6. Chapter 6

Several minutes later, Luna and Ginny were staring out the front window, watching Hermione yelling at the twins. She wasn't the sort to consider this situation an excuse to break the restrictions on underage magic, but Fred and George still looked frightened.

"After this, they'll probably consider guinea pig catching the equivalent of a holiday," Ginny said. "If we get lucky, Mad-Eye'll turn up before Hermione finishes chewing them out - that might just be funny, if it goes the way I..."

"Ginny! Luna!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, coming into the hallway. "Could you two help Tonks with dinner?"

The girls walked off into the kitchen, both wondering whether or not the kitchen would remain intact.

---

"Ugh, I'd rather be attacking the attic!" Ginny snapped. "Who knew trying to make lasagna would be this precarious?"

"I can't blame you," Tonks said, shutting the oven with a resounding _bang_. "There is a good reason I avoid anything to do with food, and everyone's about to get reminded of that. Do you two think burning it would mask the fact that there isn't proper sausage?"

"Does it matter?" Luna asked, staring out the window. Hermione had finally let the twins off, so they were now trying to wrestle a gnome out of her cat's mouth with limited success.

"I'll probably burn the damned thing whether or not I mean to," Tonks said, seemingly ignoring Luna. "I've still got to wonder why they've got me here in the first place, though. Instead of actually DOING something for our side, I'm chasing guinea pigs and cleaning out an attic! There had better be one hell of an explanation for all of that, and I intend to get it."

"Don't feel so bad," Ginny said. "It's not like we want to be here either..."

"Yeah, but there's nowhere you and the other kids could actually be HELPFUL. Me, on the other hand... I could be doing one of a hundred things that would help the Order, but of course they won't let me. For some strange reason, they've got it into their heads that I'm no use at all."

"Maybe you could look at it differently," Luna suggested. "Maybe you're here because they need someone with training to protect this bunch. Maybe the fact that you're here is a sign of how much they really trust you."

"Or maybe it's more about protecting you," Ginny added.

"No and no," Tonks snapped, not sure what she felt about this. "There are several others with more training than me who could be here, if protecting is why I'M here. And as for protecting me... I have nothing to lose if I die for our side. You two heard my little rant about how the person I have feelings for doesn't care one bit about me. Given the headcases I'm related to, I'm little more than a target for the other side. I'm nothing, girls - why would anyone want to keep me safe?"

"You're not nothing," Luna said, almost whispering. "I barely know you, but I know you're a lot more than you think you are." She would've said more had Fred and George not come crashing into the kitchen at that very second.

"Any of you lot know how to deal with cat bites?" Fred asked desperately.

"You're the only people we CAN ask," George added. "Mum'll tell us it's what we get for our stunt in the first place, and McGonagall's probably on her side."

"Where are the bites?" Tonks asked. She'd had a succession of felines as a child, so cat scratches were nothing new to her.

Fred stuck out his wrist. The cat had either been intelligent, vicious, or some combination; the bite was right next to a vein. It was bleeding steadily, and Fred seemed to be in a small bit of pain.

Tonks pulled her wand out of her pocket and started saying spells that the twins, Ginny, and Luna had never heard before. Within moments, Fred's wrist had stopped bleeding and was wrapped in a bandage. "You're a lifesaver," he said, happy his mother would never hear of this.

"When that's the most useful thing I'm able to do," Tonks muttered to herself, "it's clear that I belong elsewhere."

---

Ten more minutes later, an owl flew into the house. It dropped a letter on a table and flew off again, dissapearring into the twilight. Ginny, who was nearby, picked up the letter and opened it, disregarding that it had her mother's name on it.

"Here we go again," she said, looking a little surprised. "There's been yet another change of plans regarding who's coming here."

"Hand that over," Molly said, coming downstairs, seeing the letter in Ginny's hands, and putting two and two together. She took the letter, read it, and looked a little worried. "Ginny was right - there's been another change of plans regarding people."

"So who've we got now?" Fred asked, hoping no one would notice his bandaged wrist.

"No one else for the moment," Molly said, relieved at this fact. "Several unnamed people think it's almost too dangerous for members of the Order to even contact each other."

"Would anyone mind giving us the REAL reason we're cooped up here?" Ginny asked, sending a _look_ at certain people.

"What have I got to do with this bunch in the first place?" Luna asked, knowing full well there was no reason.

"As I said," Molly said, trying to keep her composure, "details are sketchy. All I know is that all of us in this house are here for our own good, no more and no less."

"How gullible do you think they ARE?" Tonks asked, revealing that she might actually know something. "I've met ten-year-olds who wouldn't fall for that, and these are some of the most brilliant kids I've ever known. I'm not saying I know much - I don't - but someone's got to tell them what we DO know!"

"Go ahead," Molly said, reluctantly relinquishing control.

"The truth is that a storm's coming. Odds are that several people are going to escape in the next few weeks, people who don't have conciences or feelings or anything. Most of you guys are her because you're connected to the key target. Luna, on the other hand... I don't know actual details, but I remember hearing something about you being a liability if left at school."

"What?" Luna was enraged, a frightening sight for the small group of people near her. "How bad do they think I AM? Yeah, people think I'm crazy at school, but no one's ever gotten to know me well enough to know that's just who I am. I think the term they use for me is 'mostly harmless'..."

---

A/N: I have NO IDEA what I'm doing with this next. Suggestions are very welcome.


	7. Chapter 7

Several weeks passed. Christmas was marked by a small display of fireworks by the twins, no more and no less. An uneasy silence took over the Burrow, followed by a sense of impending doom. No one took this harder than Tonks, who somehow seemed at peace and yet very, very worried. She took to pacing around aimlessly and saying very crypitic things, which was unnerving at best and downright terrifying at worst.

Tension and fear grew in the house until one day in mid-January, when an owl came bearing a day-old _Daily Prophet_. The only reason for the appearance of the newspaper, everyone figured, was because someone else in the Order thought they needed to see it - and they were right. The long-awaited storm had come in the form of ten or so escaped prisoners. After reading the news of this dreadful event, everyone gathered in the sitting room, each responding in their own way.

"Guess we really are doomed," Fred muttered after taking in the news.

"Right on," George added. "I believe it's time to locate that bucket list we made last summer and do as much of it as we can."

"Bucket list?" Hermione was bemused, but also a little on-edge.

"What, you've never heard of that sort of thing?" Fred asked incredulously. "George and I got the idea in some book we flipped through last year."

"A bucket list is a list of things you want to do before you die," George explained. "And we didn't make ours last summer, Fred - Christmas Eve, if I remember right."

The twins disappeared for a few moments, then returned with a rather long piece of parchment. "What were we thinking?" Fred asked George as he unrolled the list. "Half of this is stuff that requires our lifespans to be a lot longer than they seem to be."

"In that case," George replied, "we focus on the fun things. Here's a really clever one - the destruction of the shed."

"I don't believe we're fatalistic enough to try that, at least not yet. Now this, however, is an option." The item Fred's finger was on read 'get Hermione to approve of something we do', and he knew it would take a long time to pull that off. Still, two clever seventeen-year-old boys against one by-the-book fifteen-year-old girl is a fairer match than most people realize.

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Fred and George's unveiling of their bucket list spawned an unexpected result - everyone else, at least all the other teenagers, figured making such a list might be brilliant. Several hours later (by now about mid-afternoon), the three girls sat on boxes in the attic, making their lists.

"Let me see," Ginny said, grabbing Luna's piece of parchment and reading it intently. "Oooh, this is good! 'Thing seven - kiss a boy.' How innocent ARE you?"

"I don't exactly see every half-decent boy that crosses my path as an option, if that's what you mean," Luna replied, blissfully oblivious.

"I don't see _every_ half-decent boy that crosses my path as an option," Ginny said defensively. "Just the ones close enough to my age that I could get them. It'd be my luck that of all the guys in that category, I have to really be after the only one who doesn't see me..."

Hermione sent Ginny a warning glance, knowing where the conversation was headed. It was one thing for Ginny to defend her tecniques for finding boys, and it would be quite another if she brought up that sore subject. "Ginny, do you really believe that there's a boy at school that doesn't see you?" Hermione asked, trying to make the conversation light again.

"You know what I mean," Ginny muttered, smirking a little. "Trust me, you know _exactly_ what I mean. And for the moment, Luna, you don't, and Hermione will probably kill me if I even start explaining the tangled mess known as liking the one guy I can't get. Just don't ask, okay?"

"I wasn't really interested," Luna chirped. "I'd like it a lot better if you didn't try to turn my relative innocence into a joke, though."

"Not a problem," Ginny smiled.

A sound vaguely reminiscent of the explosion of a small bomb, which seemed to be coming from downstairs, sent the girls flying to see what had happened...

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A/N: teaser at the end for the next chapter. Now I HAVE to update at some point in the near future. Reviews are very welcome, as are suggestions.


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